Cancer Control and Population Sciences Research Program

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CANCER CONTROL AND POPULATION SCIENCES (CCPS): ABSTRACT The Cancer Control and Population Sciences (CCPS) program at the University of Florida Health Cancer Center (UFHCC) is led by Braithwaite and Krieger. The goal of the CCPS program is to reduce the cancer burden in rural North Central Florida and beyond. The CCPS program’s specific aims are to: 1) Elucidate molecular, behavioral, social, environmental, and other risk factors in cancer incidence and mortality; 2) Develop and evaluate primary and secondary cancer prevention interventions; and 3) Address the unique needs of cancer survivors. Research activities are unified by 5 CCPS priorities that address the cancer burden of the catchment area (CA): a) social determinants and cancer disparities; b) smoking and other tobacco use; c) molecular and imaging markers; d) obesity, energy balance, and cancer; and e) the intersection of cancer and aging. To capture the research strengths at the University of Florida (UF), CCPS assembled 48 members drawing a wide range of expertise from 20 departments and 10 colleges. The organization of CCPS has a culture of multidisciplinary collaboration with other UFHCC programs, shared resources, Community Outreach and Engagement (COE), and Cancer Research Training and Education, enabling research excellence across the translational spectrum. Since 2016, key achievements of the program include evaluating the performance of breast cancer screening in older women, developing novel cancer communication strategies to increase colorectal cancer screening and HPV vaccine uptake, performing studies that informed raising the age of tobacco sale in Florida, developing radiation dosing tools to prevent harmful effects of diagnostic and therapeutic radiation, assessing Hepatitis C treatments that reduce liver cancer risk, and developing digital patient-reported outcome tools. Since 2016, program members published 1,114 cancer-relevant publications, ~7% with impact factors >10. CCPS members enrolled 6,528 participants on interventional trials, including a pragmatic clinical trial examining patient-reported outcomes following proton therapy among older men with prostate cancer, and 13,064 participants on non- interventional studies. Through our efforts, robust collaboration is evident with 40% intra-programmatic, 29% inter-programmatic, and 73% multi-institutional publications. CCPS members hold >$11.5M in external peer- reviewed funding (up 48% since 2019), with >$3.7M from the NCI. CCPS mentors trained 186 graduate students and 30 postdocs, of whom 66% are women and 19% underrepresented minorities (URM). CCPS future directions are aligned with the UFHCC strategic plan, Momentum 2027, seeking further recruitments, scientific progress, and impact building on the research expertise of the UFHCC and community partnerships. Driven by the CA needs, future development includes expansion of tobacco control research, cancer communication, and screening. CCPS will address the intersectional problems of aging and cancer, obesity and cancer, and the impact of social determinants on cancer outcomes. In partnership with COE, CCPS will disseminate research findings and best practices across the CA and beyond.